Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title of the Invention
PROTECTIVE GARMENT HAVING OUTER
SHELL, LINING SYSTEM, AND FRONT
CLOSURES NOT OVERLYING ONE ANOTHER
Statement Regarding Federally Sponsored Research or Development
This invention was made with U.S. Government support under
Contract No. W91 CRB-04-C-027 awarded by the United States Department
of the Army. The U.S. Government has certain rights in the invention.
Technical Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a protective garment having an outer shell
and a lining system, each having a front closure. This invention provides that
the front closures do not overlie one another when the front closures are
closed while the protective garment is being worn.
Background of the Invention
Commonly, a protective garment, as described in the preceding
paragraph is a protective coat or protective coveralls, as worn by a
firefighter
or by an emergency rescue worker, who also may wear a face mask for a self-
contained breathing apparatus. Commonly, the protective garment has an
outer shell and a lining system, which may comprise a moisture barrier worn
beneath and against the outer shell and a thermal barrier worn beneath and
against the moisture barrier, and complies with National Fire Protection
(NFPA) standards, such as the NFPA 1971 (2000) standard.
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Commonly, the outer shell has a front closure, which is openable and
closeable, as exemplified by a zipper, by a series of snap fasteners, or by a
series of buttons coacting with buttonholes. Commonly, the lining system has
a front closure, which is openable and closeable, as exemplified by a zipper,
by a series of snap fasteners, or by a series of buttons coacting with
buttonholes. Commonly, when the protective garment is worn by a wearer
standing erectly and the front closures are closed, the front closures extend
along generally vertical paths.
Heretofore, it has been known for the front closure of the outer shell
to overlie the front closure of the lining system when the protective garment
is worn and the front closures are closed, whereupon the front closures
overlying one another may be unduly difficult for the wearer to close near the
chin of the wearer, particularly if the wearer also is wearing a face mask for
a self-contained breathing apparatus. Heretofore, when the protective
garment has two sleeves or arm-covering portions, it has been known for the
overlying closures to be approximately centered between the sleeves or arm-
covering portions.
Moreover, it has been known to arrange the overlying closures to be
laterally offset toward one of the sleeves or arm-covering portions, so that
it
may be less difficult for the wearer to close the overlying closures near the
chin of the wearer, particularly if the wearer is wearing a face mask for a
self-
contained breathing apparatus. However, it is disadvantageous for the
overlying closures to be laterally offset toward one of the sleeves or arm-
covering portions, as the front closure of the outer shell then occupies a
space
that would be otherwise available for a pocket to hold other gear, such as a
two-way radio.
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Summary of the Invention
This invention provides a protective garment comprising an outer shell
and a lining system. The outer shell has a front closure, which is openable
and closeable, and the lining system has a front closure, which is openable
and closeable. Each front closure extends along a generally vertical path
when said front closure is closed while the protective garment is being worn
by a wearer standing vertically. This invention provides that the front
closures are staggered so as not to overlie one another when the front
closures
are closed while the protective garment is being worn.
If the protective garment has two limb-covering portions, one of the
front closures may be arranged so as to approximately centered between the
limb-covering portions, when the front closures are closed while the
protective garment is being worn. The limb-covering portions may be arm-
covering portions. The front closure of the outer shell may be thus arranged.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a fragmentary, pictorial view of a protective garment
embodying this invention, as worn by a firefighter. As illustrated in Figure
1, a front closure of an outer shell of the protective garment is opened,
while
a front closure of a lining system of the protective garment is closed.
Figure 2 is a fragmentary, pictorial view, in which the firefighter is
illustrated as wearing other gear including a face mask for a self-contained
breathing apparatus and which is similar to Figure 1 in other respects, except
that both front closures are closed. Figure 3 is a fragmentary, sectional
view,
which is taken along line 3 - - 3 in Figure 2, in a direction indicated by
arrows.
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Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment
As illustrated, a protective garment 10 embodying this invention may
be a protective coat or protective coveralls and, thus, has a main or torso-
covering portion 12 and two sleeves or arm-covering portions 14. As
illustrated, the protective garment 10 is being worn by a firefighter, who
also
is wearing a protective hood 16, which extends upwardly from the main or
torso-covering portion 12, and who also is wearing a face mask 18 for a self-
contained breathing apparatus.
Throughout the main or torso-covering portion 12 and the sleeves or
arm-covering portions 14, the protective garment 10 has an outer shel120 and
a lining system 30, which comprises a moisture barrier 30a worn beneath and
against the outer shel120 and a thermal barrier 30b worn beneath and against
the moisture barrier. Preferably, the protective garment 10 conforms to the
NFPA 1971(2000) standard.
The outer she1120 has a front closure 22, which is openable manually
and closeable manually. The lining system 32 has a front closure 32, which
is openable manually and closeable manually. Each front closure 22, 32, is
arranged so as to extend along a generally vertical path when said front
closure 22, 32, is closed while the protective garment 10 is being worn by a
wearer standing vertically. Each front closures 22, 32, is exemplified by a
zipper, as illustrated, by a row of snap fasteners, or by a row of buttons
coacting with buttonholes.
Moreover, the outer she1120 has a flap 40, which in a closure-covering
position is adapted to cover the front closure 22 when the front closure 22 is
closed, as illustrated in Figure 2, which is foldable along one edge 42 of the
flap 40, between the closure-covering position and other positions, which are
exemplified by its position in Figure 1, and which in the closure-covering
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position is attachable detachably to the outer shel120, at a front area of the
main or torso-covering portion 12, via a hook-and-loop fastener 44.
This invention provides that the front closure 22 of the outer she1120
and the front closure 32 of the lining system 30 are staggered so as not to
overlie one another when the front closures 22, 32, are closed while the
protective garment 10 is being worn. As illustrated, the front closure 22 of
the outer she1120 is arranged so as to be approximately centered between the
sleeves or arm-covering portions 14, while the front closure 32 of the lining
system 30 is arranged so as to be laterally offset toward one of the sleeves
or
arm-covering portions 14, i. e., toward the left from the vantage of the
wearer.
Alternatively, the front closure 32 of the lining system 30 is arranged
so as to be approximately centered between the sleeves or arm-covering
portions 14, while the front closure 30 of the outer shell 30 is arranged so
as
to be laterally offset toward one of the sleeves or arm-covering portions 14.
Alternatively, the front closure 32 of the lining system 30 is arranged so as
to
be laterally offset toward one of the sleeves or arm-covering portions 14,
while the front closure 30 of the outer shell 30 is arranged so as to be
laterally
offset toward the other of the sleeves or arm-covering portions 14.
